Cátedra Alfonso Reyes

The Cátedra Alfonso Reyes has established itself as a distinguished forum for reflection that brings together some of the most influential voices in contemporary thought. As an open, diverse, and plural platform, it promotes the growth of an engaged intellectual community dedicated to understanding and addressing the challenges of our time with creativity and responsibility. Throughout its history, the Chair has stood at the forefront of discussions and critical analysis of issues central to public and cultural life. Over the past twenty-seven years, more than six hundred invited speakers have contributed indispensable perspectives on key concerns of the twenty-first century: democracy, feminism, peace studies, responsibility in the face of the climate crisis, the economics of sustainability, the construction of modern history, the scope of public policy, the significance of anthropology, the need for civic ethics, the value of literature, and the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. Through their lucid insights, participants in this forum have invited us to engage with the complexity of a twenty-first century that the Chair’s earliest advisors already envisioned as both demanding and fascinating.

Ciclo de Arquitectura y Espiritualidad

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Architecture program, the Cátedra Alfonso Reyes is organizing a two-lecture series devoted to reflecting on architectural spaces as sources that cultivate and safeguard spirituality through elements such as light, silence, nature, water, and color. The first lecture will be delivered by the scholar of medieval mysticism Victoria Cirlot, who will speak on spirituality in the work of Antoni Gaudí. The second lecture will be given by the anthropologist and historian Alfonso Alfaro, who will discuss two buildings on the Monterrey campus of the Tecnológico de Monterrey: Punto Blanco: Espacio de Reflexión y Espíritu de la Luz: Skyspace.

CEDES, 12^th Floor, Campus Monterrey
Monday, May 18, 3:00 p.m.
Lecture Gaudí: surrealismo y espiritualidad
With Victoria Cirlot

Punto Blanco, Espacio de Reflexión, Campus Monterrey
Tuesday, May 19, 3:00 p.m.
Lecture Arquitectura y espiritualidad
With Alfonso Alfaro

Cover of Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz, written by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, a foundational work of New Spanish literature.

Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz, de Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

Written in 1691, the Respuesta a Sor Filotea de la Cruz is one of the few surviving prose works by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz and stands as one of the most remarkable texts of colonial

literature in New Spain. In this work, the Hieronymite nun shares autobiographical reflections while defending her intellectual vocation against the criticisms expressed by Manuel Fernández de Santa Cruz in the prologue to the Carta Atenagórica. The text is widely regarded as one of the earliest and most forceful affirmations of women’s right to knowledge.

The facsimile edition of the Respuesta, published by the Tecnológico de Monterrey in collaboration with the Fondo Editorial de Nuevo León, reproduces the 1701 Barcelona edition preserved at the Cervantina Library in the volume Fama y obras póstumas, part of the Conway Collection.

Book presentations

Festival del Libro y la Lectura Santiago Lee, Santiago N.L.
Sunday, March 8, 1:30 p.m.
With: Ana Laura Santamaría, Marcela Beltrán and Perla Cano

Premio Mujer Tec, Campus Monterrey
Wednesday, March 11, 1:00 p.m.
Reading performed by students

Feria del Libro UANLeer, Colegio Civil, Café Literario
Friday, March 13, 8:00 p.m.
With: Carolina Farías, Hilda Larrazábal and Marcela Beltrán

Feria Internacional del Libro de Yucatán, FILEY
Congreso de Mexicanistas
Friday, March 20, 12:30 p.m.
With: Sara Poot Herrera, Marcela Beltrán and Perla Cano

Feria Internacional del Libro, FILUG-Universidad de Guanajuato
Friday, March 20, 6:00 p.m.
With: Ana Lucía Macías, Lizette Saldívar and Ana Laura Santamaría

Palacio de Bellas Artes, Sala Manuel M. Ponce, CDMX
Friday, April 24, 12:00 p.m.
With: Sara Poot Herrera, Marcela Beltrán, Moisés Villaseñor and LIFE

Feria Internacional del Libro de Coahuila, Sala Julio Torri
Thursday, April 30, 12:00 p.m.
Presentan: Armín Gómez, Marcela Beltrán y Perla Cano

Aulas VI, Room 406, Campus Monterrey
Thursday, May 28, 3:00 p.m.
With: Sara Poot Herrera

Biblioteca del Ágora Gabriel Zaid

Biblioteca del Ágora Gabriel Zaid is a publishing series devoted to disseminating the thought of the Monterrey-born essayist Gabriel Zaid. It consists of short, annotated volumes designed to introduce the author’s ideas to new generations of readers, particularly students and young people interested in the essay form and in critical reflection. The series is part of the Gabriel Zaid Agora project, an initiative of Tecnológico de Monterrey through the Cátedra Alfonso Reyes, in collaboration with El Colegio Nacional. It was launched in 2024 as part of the commemoration of the author’s ninetieth birthday. The project seeks to revive the spirit of the classical agora as a space for conversation, intellectual exchange, and debate around Zaid’s work and its influence on Mexican cultural life, fostering open dialogue and shared reflection between established scholars and younger readers.

Cover of the book Romper a cantar by Gabriel Zaid, presented by El Colegio Nacional and Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Cover of the book Teofanías by Gabriel Zaid, presented at Tecnológico de Monterrey.

Book presentations Romper a cantar and Teofanías

Feria del Libro UANLeer, Colegio Civil, Monterrey, N.L.
Saturday, March 14, 1:00 p.m.
With: Roberto Kaput and Ana Laura Santamaría

Feria Internacional del Libro de Guanajuato, FILUG
Thursday, March 19, 5:00 p.m.
With: Daniel Ayala, Salvador García and Ana Laura Santamaría

Feria Internacional del Libro de Coahuila, Sala Julio Torri
Thursday, April 30, 11:00 a.m.
With: Gabriela Cantú, Armín Gómez and Campus Saltillo students